Five charged with stirring up hatred of homosexuals

Five men have now been charged with stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, in the first prosecution of its kind since legislation came into force in March 2010. Ihjaz Ali, 41, Mehboob Hussain, 44, and Umar Javed, 38, Razwan Javed, 30 and Kabir Ahmed, 27 were charged at Derby Magistrates’ Court with stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.

CPS lawyer Sue Hemming said: "We authorised Derbyshire Police to charge these men with offences of distributing threatening written material intending to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. The charges relate to the distribution of a leaflet, ‘The Death Penalty?’, outside the Jamia Mosque in Derby in July 2010 and through letterboxes during the same month.

"This is the first ever prosecution for this offence and it is the result of close working between the Crown Prosecution Service and Derbyshire Police.

"Following complaints from the public, Derbyshire Police mounted a thorough investigation. We have carefully reviewed the evidence provided by the police and are satisfied that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to charge these men."

The five men will appear together at Derby Magistrates’ Court on 14 February.